Press Release
As the director of entrepreneur programs for Elkhorn Valley Economic Development Council, I work with individuals who are starting a business or already own a business that need assistance with a business plan, cash flows, credit counseling and loan options as well as many other areas. The businesses that I assist are usually those with 10 or fewer employees.
So my perspective on “What’s it going to take to help the economy of Norfolk and the area grow” will come from the entrepreneur angle, with a youth twist and your involvement!
First, I must start by taking this to a regional level. I strongly believe that what is good for Norfolk is good for the entire Northeast region of Nebraska. And what is good for Stanton, Pierce, Plainview, Battle Creek, Elgin, Pilger, Osmond, Foster, Hadar, Orchard, Brunswick and Clearwater is just as important to Northeast Nebraska.
Within our region, we have many different facets that make up the region—agriculture, business/repair/personal services, construction, finance/insurance/real estate, manufacturing, public administration, retail/wholesale trade, transportation and tourism.
To really answer the question at hand, we must face the fact that many communities in Northeast Nebraska are facing a depopulation issue. We all know that population changes consist of only four dimensions: birth, death, in-migration and out-migration. If a population grows, it is because more people are born than die, and/or because more people move in than move out. If a population declines, the reverse must be true.
I am not going to bore you with the many reports, numbers and statistics that are out there between the U.S. Census reports and the various rural studies. Many of us have seen the changes first-hand within our own community. This is where you involvement comes in. Instead of me answering the question, I would like to throw out some questions that I have—just for you to think about.
1. As parents and educators, are we educating our high school graduates on fields of interest for our communities? Example: If we are not sending our students to school to be the next plumbers, electricians, welders, heating and air conditioning techs, nurses, caregivers of our elderly, etc., where will we get these services? How much will we have to pay for these services?
If our kids continue to go to college to get degrees that we cannot service in our communities, our chances of getting them back to our community after college will decrease significantly. Thus, out-migration will continue.
2. As consumers and area residents, are we supporting our local entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurs create jobs in a community, increase income and enlarge the local tax base. They go beyond investing in their own businesses by promoting their communities through involvement in schools, civic service and philanthropy. Entrepreneurship provides countless benefits, and communities need to recognize the potential of entrepreneurial activity as they work toward a sound strategy for economic development.
We could even take this to a state level. Is our state doing the best that it can to offer state incentives, tax benefits and start-up support for our entrepreneurs the same way it does for other entities?
3. Are our schools teaching the necessary skills to help cultivate entrepreneurs?
According to a Gallup study, 70 percent of high school students polled would like to start their own businesses. However, 90 percent of those students surveyed rated their personal knowledge of entrepreneurship as very poor to fair. The challenge is to help students recognize and develop the skills and tools they need to succeed in business ventures. With that in mind, shouldn’t entrepreneurship be more of a focus?
4. Small business transition and retirement. Small business transfer is the change in ownership of a business. Historically, small businesses were often passed down within families from generation to generation, but this type of business transfer has decreased in recent decades. The responsibility of small business transfer lies not only with the owner, but also with the community.
Small business transfers should be a vital part of a community’s economic development strategy. A community should identify business owners who will be retiring as well as younger people interested in taking over a business, and then work closely with interested parties to develop a transfer strategy. When a successful business transfer is complete, a community has saved a business integral to the local economy. As a small business owner or community leader, have you determined your business transition strategy?
So what’s the answer?
None of us have all the right answers. But I do believe that if all of us (as individuals) work together without geographic boundaries, previous animosities/rivalries, and open minds to one another’s talents and beliefs, we could really “help and grow the economy of the entire Northeast region!”
My personal opinion is that we need to look at mentoring, cultivating, encouraging, supporting, recognizing and celebrating. The combination of those will grow us individually, as a community and as a region.
MENTORING involves a relationship in which someone in a position of trust provides another with guidance. The power of mentoring is being given more attention as the interest in mentoring gains popularity and recognition.
Research shows remarkable data that substantiates the positive influence mentoring provides in people’s lives. For example, report titled “Mentoring: A Promising Strategy for Youth Development” and available from the National Mentoring Center, outlines many positive outcomes that result from a mentoring relationship, including better school attendance, improved chances of going to college, better attitudes toward school and improved grades.
In addition, mentoring appears to curb negative behaviors that lead to delinquency and crime such as substance abuse. Overall, mentoring program evaluations suggest that these relationships can be critical to educational achievement, health and safety, as well as social and emotional development.
Business-to-business mentoring also helps to sustain rural regions. Business mentoring helps start-up and struggling businesses with support and expertise from experienced businesses. The result can be a region in which everyone shares the collective success of small businesses.
CULTIVATING—both our youth to the advantages of staying in our communities or coming back after college, and entrepreneurship. Fostering more entrepreneurial development within our communities is vital given the challenges of job and population loss that Nebraska is facing. Encouraging our youth and inspiring innovative thinking are places to begin.
ENCOURAGING individuals around us to use their strengths and talents—whether that is as entrepreneurs, leaders in our community or whatever direction it takes them. We have many hidden talents within our communities that need to be unveiled yet. And if we don’t encourage them, we will never really know all the talent!
SUPPORTING—at all levels and all facets of our region. As mentioned earlier, there are many facets that make up a community. We need to not only support those facets, but also our biggest asset—our human capital. Support them by doing the above: mentoring, cultivating and encouraging!
RECOGNIZING. Recognize your individual and community strengths and weaknesses. Not all communities are created equal, as all people are not. Acknowledge the strengths of you as an individual as well as your community. Compliment those strengths! Accept that we all have weaknesses as people and as communities. And by all means, do not allow your weaknesses to be your strengths!
CELEBRATING—take time to celebrate your success!
By Karen Linnenbrink, Elkhorn Valley Economic Development Council
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
